Bottling with Spigot

[kiwi4president]

I've got my beer in the primary bucket right now with a spigot. Its been in there for two weeks. I'm looking to transfer to a bottling bucket to bottle. Not planning on using secondary but I'm also not opposed to it. I tried some beer through the spigot and the first bit I got was cloudy and FULL of trub, sour nasty trub. At first I was concerned it was sour because I had some sort of infection but I think its just unadulterated yeast I'm tasting (I could be wrong). How can I avoid this when I move to the bottling bucket? Should I use a racking cane or the spigot to transfer?

 

[freisste]

I would use a racking cane. If it is like mine (autosiphon), it has a cap on the end which allows you to put it right against the bottom of the pail and not pick up the trub.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

I would use a racking cane. If it is like mine (autosiphon), it has a cap on the end which allows you to put it right against the bottom of the pail and not pick up the trub.

If its from a primary ive had trub be well above the height of the siphon head, you should still stick the siphon below the surface and slowly move it down as you drain if your wanting zero trub.

 

[crosamich]

If the yeast has flocculated out and still high enough to come thru the spigot you can do something as simple as setting your bucket on the counter/shelf ahead of time (morning if going to transfer after work). Tilt the bucket away from the spigots itch a book or something so the yeast cake settles away.
Be sure the bucket is stable. Last thing you want to do is come home to see the bucket has shifted and you have a mess.

 

[freisste]

If its from a primary ive had trub be well above the height of the siphon head, you should still stick the siphon below the surface and slowly move it down as you drain if your wanting zero trub.

Good point. Actually, when I do it, that is what I do. Sorry...wasn't thinking. When I go from secondary to bottling bucket (when I use secondary), I put the cane against the bottom and it works great. (Just make sure to put the end of the cane in the deepest part of the secondary - in carboys I've seen, the center is raised - and move it as little as possible.)

 

[Ogri]

You're better off using a racking cane, or autosyphon, and a long piece of food grade silicon tubing. You want to rack the beer to your bottling bucket with as little splashing and aeration as possible as that might cause your beer to oxidise.
Do you have a bottling wand?? If not it would be a good idea to get one as it'll help you get exactly the right amount of headspace in the filled bottles and, again, reduce the risk of aerating the beer during the bottling process and risking oxidation.

 

[crosamich]

How did I miss that the OP asked about a racking cane? I just assumed he didn't have one. Auto siphon is by far the best $10 you can spend in this entire hobby.

 

[dudius]

I'm a beginner so I'm hoping to see more opinions after mine, but I'd use the racking cane to transfer to the container you'll use for bottling. The stopper at the end will help keep from sucking up sediment and trub (as long as you don't jam it in the trub). I personally don't think I'd ever use the spigot for anything but bottling but as I said, I'm a beginner and hope to see more opinions.

Something else that might be helpful is that when you transfer you'll want to put the end of the siphoning tube at the bottom of the container you're transferring to. Allowing the beer to splash about can cause oxidation which might produce off flavors. That's another reason I'd pass on using the spigot. Aside from the trub that could get sucked up, the spigot could cause splashing (though that could be fixed by attaching your vinyl tubing to the hose or bottling wand).

Another tip: I use a bucket without spigot and a glass carboy for my first and primary fermentation stages and then transfer to the bucket with spigot for bottling. I find this the easiest way to do it, which I'm very fond of because I'm rather lazy and like the path of least resistance.

Edit: Wow, I thought I was gonna be the first to post Glad to see some other opinions.

 

[MTate37]

Go get an autosiphon now! (or as soon as you can) IMHO they should be included in a beginner's kit. I guess I'm a little glad that I learned how to start a siphon without my mouth, but if I had known how much easier (and cleaner) an autosiphon is I would have gladly paid double the price.

 

[greenhaze]

Get the auto siphon !!!
Use you bucket that has the spigot to bottle your beer. See photos below. Attach your bottling wand directly to your spigot with a short piece of tubing. I place my bottling bucket on a stable table on my dining room table. I have my bucket on the left for sanitizing my bottles. Fill with beer, when six are full then cap and place in six pack holder. Took an hour to fill 53.5 bottles.
Slainte

 

[mikegee]

The auto siphon was one of the best pieces of kit I've invested in after the necessities. Definitely worthwhile. Makes bottling cleaner, quicker and more efficient.

 

[unionrdr]

This is the #1 reason why I strain the wort & top off water into the FV. I only get about 3/8" of trub/yeast at the bottom. Well below the level of the spigots on my fermenters. I atatch a piece of tubing to the spigot to curl half way around the bottom of the bottling bucket to induce swirl while racking. Helps stir up the priming solution. I then tilt the FV slightly at the end,& get all but a couple tablespoons of clear beer into the bottling bucket.
Amazingly enough,any grainy bits that make it over to the botlling bucket settle quickly to the bottom & stay there for the most part.